Worst cities for malware attacks

Internet security experts F-Secure have uncovered the most malware-vulnerable areas in Australia, with Melbourne earning the dubious honour ahead of Brisbane, Perth and Sydney.

The study shows that 18% of all identified threats in Australia occurred in Melbourne, chiefly in the CBD and South Yarra. Brisbane’s CBD followed with 14%, Perth with 11% and Sydney attracting 9%.

Su Gim Goh, F-Secure’s security advisor in the Asia Pacific region, said, “Melbournians are most likely to have their devices infected with malware as they probably download more apps than other Australians. However, regardless of where they live, all Australians should be taking control of protecting their personal data, considering the constantly changing threat landscape.”

According to F-Secure, the vast majority of malware detected in Australia (55%) is classified as belonging to “possibly unwanted variant online” and affects Android mobiles. This type of malware is a program or component that may be intrusive or inadvertently introduces privacy or security risks. Users typically accept the potential risk associated with the program and elect to install and use the application.

The malware threats are typically designed to take money from unwitting users who install the apps, with 88% of the new families or variants featuring some way for the attacker to make a profit. One common method is the app sends text messages to a premium rate number; another is it charges a fee for a program that can normally be accessed for free.

A worrying trend is the ability for a type of malware called ransomware to move across platforms, from personal computers to mobile devices. Ransomware can lock access to a device until the user pays a ransom, usually by sending bitcoins to the attacker.

Internationally, F-Secure has seen a concerning rise in malware growth for the Android platform. Most of the threats (about 99%) affect the Android platform as it has an open app store ecosystem that allows a tainted application to lurk into Android mobile devices through third-party stores.

The Australian country manager for F-Secure, Adam Smith, suggests that consumers and businesses need to be more vigilant.

“Particularly in the lead-up to the holidays, consumers and merchants should protect themselves from card fraud, which happens more frequently than what you might think - 4000 fraudulent transactions are recorded on average every day in Australia, and with internet shopping on the rise, more and more of these incidents are happening online and over Wi-Fi connections,” he says.

“Unsecured Wi-Fi access points are excellent sources of personal information such as credit card numbers and email logins for thieves. This type of information can potentially be passed over the Wi-Fi in plain text and quickly utilised for potential criminal gain.”

F-Secure’s top 6 security tips are:

•      Lock your device
•      Set up message barring
•      Use anti-theft protection
•      Scrutinise permission requests
•      Download only from trusted sources
•      Scan downloaded apps